When one thinks of Queen Victoria, the common image that comes to mind is the obese, stout-ish woman dressed in black from head to toe with a very harsh expression: the image of a great empress. Very few know about her before this appearance, save for those who have seen the ITV series Victoria, or Jean-Marc Vallée's film The Young Victoria. The average person probably won't have seen these, and thus her youth is a mystery. I chose this topic since today marks the late queen's birthday, having been born on the 24th of May, 1819.
Born the only child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield, she was christened Alexandrina Victoria in Kensington Palace in the reign of King George III. However, the young princess did not know her father as he died when she was less than a year old. Affectionately known as "Drina," the young princess had a large burden on her shoulders from a young age.When George III died and the crown passed to George IV, and then to William IV, due to legitimacy issues and lack of heirs, Victoria became the unlikely heir presumptive in 1830. An act was passed that same year known as the Regency Act, allowing Drina's mother to act as regent in the event William IV passed away while Drina was a minor. However, William hated Princess Victoria, and declared in 1836 that he wished to live until Drina's 18th birthday in order to avoid a regency. I tried to look up why she was so despised by the King and Queen, and there were a number of reasons. For starters, she didn't allow Drina to take part in many royal engagements, preventing her from leaving the palace for most of her life; the King and Queen desired to develop a personal relationship with the young princess. At the same time, Princess Victoria frequently snubbed William's illegitimate children, earning even more of his wrath. But Drina's problem laid in her upbringing.
When the Regency Act was passed, a new set of rules was instituted to supposedly protect Drina from worldly attacks. On the surface, these rules seemed fairly reasonable; the subterranean implication was actually extremely dangerous. The rules were developed by Princess Victoria and her comptroller, Sir John Conroy, and were named the "Kensington System." These rules controlled much of Drina's life, arguably preventing her from even living life. She was not allowed to walk down the stairs unless there was someone holding her hand. She must share a room with her mother. She must not be allowed to be by herself at any point throughout the day, being only allowed with either her mother, Sir John, or one of the Conroy sisters. Books must be vetted through and approved before Drina would be allowed to read them. All these meant she was totally isolated at Kensington Palace at the mercy of Princess Victoria and Sir John. Their argument was that it was completely for her protection. Historians argue otherwise. Perhaps they hoped that due to lack of exposure to the outside world, she would never be properly prepared for her role as queen, and will inevitably leave the ruling to her mother. The system also allowed Princess Victoria to prevent any of her late husband's family, such as the King and Queen, to have any influence over Drina. Every guest to Kensington Palace must have prior approval before meeting any of its inhabitants. Even at the age of 13, the common age of this time when a child would be allowed to eat with the others in the dining room, Drina was still confined to her nursery, occasionally being given permission to join public dinners for the sake of being taught social skills. Annie Gray writes in her book about Queen Victoria that the young Drina would eat her meals very quickly and in as large a quantity as possible. She doesn't give a reason, but my theory is that because Drina was given very plain meals in small quantities, she feared being starved by her mother and Sir John. This was a very sad revelation.
If anyone thought Drina would develop a close relationship with Princess Victoria as a result of living in such close proximity, they would be sorely mistaken. Drina became extremely bitter towards her mother, and absolutely despised Sir John. At the time of her accession to the throne in 1837, which thankfully happened after she had turned 18, and becoming Queen Victoria, she distanced herself from the two as much as she possibly could. Being the mother of the Queen, Princess Victoria was allowed personal apartments within Buckingham Palace, although they were far away from her own. She refused to allow Sir John to be anywhere near her. Sir John in particular was the target of Queen Victoria's hatred, especially since he tried to exploit her illness when she fell deathly ill of typhoid by attempting to force her to sign a document that would make him her personal secretary upon her accession. Instead, he was banned from her household - though not from her mother's - and was not allowed to attend her in court. Meanwhile, Queen Victoria's relationship with her mother would be halted and she did not see her often. At her own marriage to Prince Albert, she merely shook hands with her mother. It wouldn't be until 1840 when Queen Victoria gave birth to her first child that the two reconciled - my guess is that she recognised she did have some love for her mother, a dutiful one, and desired a maternal presence when she became a new mother herself.
Queen Victoria's behaviours in her later life can largely be attributed to the way she was treated as a child. Her large appetite and her strong desire for independence came down to what she lacked under the Kensington System. Despite her natural obedience and love for Prince Albert, she realised early on that she would never be subjected to such torture ever again. Becoming the queen gave her the freedom she deserved, even if it led to other problems later in life.
Born the only child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield, she was christened Alexandrina Victoria in Kensington Palace in the reign of King George III. However, the young princess did not know her father as he died when she was less than a year old. Affectionately known as "Drina," the young princess had a large burden on her shoulders from a young age.When George III died and the crown passed to George IV, and then to William IV, due to legitimacy issues and lack of heirs, Victoria became the unlikely heir presumptive in 1830. An act was passed that same year known as the Regency Act, allowing Drina's mother to act as regent in the event William IV passed away while Drina was a minor. However, William hated Princess Victoria, and declared in 1836 that he wished to live until Drina's 18th birthday in order to avoid a regency. I tried to look up why she was so despised by the King and Queen, and there were a number of reasons. For starters, she didn't allow Drina to take part in many royal engagements, preventing her from leaving the palace for most of her life; the King and Queen desired to develop a personal relationship with the young princess. At the same time, Princess Victoria frequently snubbed William's illegitimate children, earning even more of his wrath. But Drina's problem laid in her upbringing.
When the Regency Act was passed, a new set of rules was instituted to supposedly protect Drina from worldly attacks. On the surface, these rules seemed fairly reasonable; the subterranean implication was actually extremely dangerous. The rules were developed by Princess Victoria and her comptroller, Sir John Conroy, and were named the "Kensington System." These rules controlled much of Drina's life, arguably preventing her from even living life. She was not allowed to walk down the stairs unless there was someone holding her hand. She must share a room with her mother. She must not be allowed to be by herself at any point throughout the day, being only allowed with either her mother, Sir John, or one of the Conroy sisters. Books must be vetted through and approved before Drina would be allowed to read them. All these meant she was totally isolated at Kensington Palace at the mercy of Princess Victoria and Sir John. Their argument was that it was completely for her protection. Historians argue otherwise. Perhaps they hoped that due to lack of exposure to the outside world, she would never be properly prepared for her role as queen, and will inevitably leave the ruling to her mother. The system also allowed Princess Victoria to prevent any of her late husband's family, such as the King and Queen, to have any influence over Drina. Every guest to Kensington Palace must have prior approval before meeting any of its inhabitants. Even at the age of 13, the common age of this time when a child would be allowed to eat with the others in the dining room, Drina was still confined to her nursery, occasionally being given permission to join public dinners for the sake of being taught social skills. Annie Gray writes in her book about Queen Victoria that the young Drina would eat her meals very quickly and in as large a quantity as possible. She doesn't give a reason, but my theory is that because Drina was given very plain meals in small quantities, she feared being starved by her mother and Sir John. This was a very sad revelation.
If anyone thought Drina would develop a close relationship with Princess Victoria as a result of living in such close proximity, they would be sorely mistaken. Drina became extremely bitter towards her mother, and absolutely despised Sir John. At the time of her accession to the throne in 1837, which thankfully happened after she had turned 18, and becoming Queen Victoria, she distanced herself from the two as much as she possibly could. Being the mother of the Queen, Princess Victoria was allowed personal apartments within Buckingham Palace, although they were far away from her own. She refused to allow Sir John to be anywhere near her. Sir John in particular was the target of Queen Victoria's hatred, especially since he tried to exploit her illness when she fell deathly ill of typhoid by attempting to force her to sign a document that would make him her personal secretary upon her accession. Instead, he was banned from her household - though not from her mother's - and was not allowed to attend her in court. Meanwhile, Queen Victoria's relationship with her mother would be halted and she did not see her often. At her own marriage to Prince Albert, she merely shook hands with her mother. It wouldn't be until 1840 when Queen Victoria gave birth to her first child that the two reconciled - my guess is that she recognised she did have some love for her mother, a dutiful one, and desired a maternal presence when she became a new mother herself.
Queen Victoria's behaviours in her later life can largely be attributed to the way she was treated as a child. Her large appetite and her strong desire for independence came down to what she lacked under the Kensington System. Despite her natural obedience and love for Prince Albert, she realised early on that she would never be subjected to such torture ever again. Becoming the queen gave her the freedom she deserved, even if it led to other problems later in life.
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